Gardas Solve The Mystery to Beat The Rockits

Dec 29, 2014 | Bout News

Gardas Solve The Mystery to Beat The Rockits

The Garda Belts came from behind in the second half to secure a 124-103 victory over the Rockits during the first bout of “The Mystery of the Hidden Derby Track”. The Rockits started out strong with a huge 23-0 jam from All-Star jammer Harmony Killerbruise, and kept a lead throughout the first half. Rockit blockers drew a number of important penalties on Garda Belt jammers in the first half while Harmony, Obscene Sheen, and Rhea Volt all turned in impressive performances jamming. A strong jam by the Gardas’ Second Hand Smoke started to tip momentum toward the Gardas near the end of the first half, and the score stood at 73-65 Rockits at half time.

The Rockits slowly expanded their lead to 15 points through the start of the second half, but an 18-point jam by the Gardas’ Shiva Shank’n blew the game wide open and gave the Gardas their first lead of the night, 88-85. That came in the middle of a strong defensive stand for the Garda Belts blockers, who held the Rockits to just 3 points over 6 jamms while Shiva, Smoke, and Ida Sockher expanded the Gardas lead. A big jam by the Rockits’ Obscene Sheen narrowed the Rockits lead to 109-103 with 5 minutes left in the game, but the Gardas managed to lock down the Rockits again and hold them to those 103 points the rest of the game. When time expired in this holiday themed red/green bout, the Gardas won 124-103.

Garda fans should celebrate strong performances on both sides of the game and down the whole roster. Ida Sockher won Pizza Luce Player of the Game for her solid contribution to the Gardas’ scoring effort, and Shiva Shank’n earned the Derby 4 All Game Changer for a top-notch performance blocking and jamming. The Rockits to their credit are developing a dangerous scoring threat in the rotation of Volt, Sheen, and Harmony, and also saw All-Star blocker Buzz Tightrear return to the track in full form, knocking a few Gardas across the track and earning the ScutiePie Hot Pants Hot Shot award.

Bout Highlights

First Half 16:00 – After the Early Rockits barrage, Ida Sockher strikes back for the Garda Belts with 15 points. After fighting through the pack for lead jammer, she gets the first five the easy way with a casual little hop through the inside line. 3 games in and Ida’s already looking comfortable in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

First Half 14:00 – Rockits blocker Betsy Wrecksie was all over Gardas jammer Scootaloo in this jam, pushing her out of bounds again and again and drawing her to the back of the pack each time. She adds insult to the injury by drawing a track cut penalty on Scootaloo and making her watch from the box as Obscene Sheen adds points for the Rockits.

First Half 12:00 – On the next jam, the Gardas’ Tara Bichapart was the thorn in Rhea Volt’s side, using her wide leg span to cover the track and provide no room for Volt to get around her. As Tara toppled Volt to the infield, Volt stumbled in and out, leading to a track cut call and a Garda’s power jam.

First Half 8:00 – The Rockits’ Buzz Tightrear often chooses to block facing backwards, and this jam is a great example as to why. By keeping a view of the entire pack from the front, she is able to stay in position and use teammates Surly Bird and Salvador Brawlie as her own personal weapons to contain Gardas jammer Frigid O’Shaughnessy. The Rockit blockers “recycle” around multiple Garda hits to hold the Gardas to 0 for the jam.

First Half 6:00 – Second Hand Smoke, just back from the Roller Derby World Cup in Dallas, TX shows some of the athleticism that earned her a spot on Team USA. As jammer, she absorbs a huge hit by landing in spread-eagle stance, lands a posterior block on a Rockit blocker, and manages to stay in bounds around the corner to claim lead jammer. Before she gets out though, MeshugEnough digs in with a plow stop and shows her that even Team USA stars have to work for it in the Roy Wilkins.

Second Half 13:00 – It’s not often that Harmony Killerbruise has trouble getting through the pack, even in high-level WFTDA play, but after a missed apex jump she had Gardas all over her in this jam. Crust Almighty raced to the back of the pack to make Harmony come in behind her, then led her to the wall of Tara Bichapart, Bri Zuss, and Stacy Wreckt, which held long enough for Shiva Shank’n to rack up multiple scoring passes before calling off the jam.

Second Half 6:00 – The big hits are the plays that make for great photos, but sometimes the precise technical footwork is what makes the bigger impact on the game. Scarmen Hellectra demonstrated this for the Rockits by pushing Shiva Shank’n just out of bounds, then immediately hopping back behind her just before the Garda’s jammer stepped back in play. Of course, that meant that Shiva had improved her relative position, which resulted in a trip to the Surly Furious Sin Bin for Shiva Shank’n.